Huichol

The Wixárika (Huichol pronunciation: [wiˈraɾika]) or Huichol (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwit͡ʃo̞l]) are an Indigenous people of Mexico living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, with considerable communities in the United States, in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. They are best known to the larger world as the Huichol, although they refer to themselves as Wixáritari ("the people") in their Huichol language. The adjectival form of Wixáritari and name for their own language is Wixárika. The Wixárika speak a language of the Wixarikan group that is closely related to the Nahuatl group. Furthermore, they have received Mesoamerican influences, which is reflected by the fact that Wixarika has features typical of the Mesoamerican language area. Their spirituality traditionally involves collecting and consuming peyote (Lophophora williamsii), a cactus that possesses hallucinogenic effects due to its psychoactive alkaloids, such as mescaline.